In the beginning, God created everything. And when he was done, he said, “It is good.” The events to follow: not so good. But that doesn’t make the products of creation any less good. You know the story. There was a man, a woman and a garden with an awesome tree in...
Last year, a single mother named Stephanie lost her home after she was laid off from her job. She had obtained a new position, but it paid $5 less per hour, which was not enough to pay the rent. Without family, savings and alternative options to help her stay housed,...
In the 1990s, an international art dealer befriended an African-American homeless man named Denver Moore. Their story, as told in the award-winning novel “Same Kind of Different as Me,” demonstrates the impact on lives of any stature when the world of privilege and...
As a young single person, I frequently had friends who took, what I’ll call, the cafeteria plan for “doing church.” They went to one church’s worship services, another’s Sunday school, a small group somewhere during the week and mission activities on their own....
On a high school youth retreat, I once heard a Methodist bishop tell the story of his own youthful endeavor to be accepted as part of an honor society. There were only but so many slots each year and far more teens seeking acceptance. The aspiring pastor worked very...
In a court scene not long ago, a Fredericksburg man stood before the judge having been convicted 72 times in 30 out of his 47 years of life. On this occasion, he was there for “finding a man’s wallet and using his credit card to buy $7 worth of items” from a...
